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Last night there was a remarkable phone call from a Viet Nam War Veteran to the radio program "Coast to Coast AM." He explained how war had traumatized him, and how it had taken him four decades to recover. He also was critical of a guest in the first hour (I think it was from the first hour, or perhaps a previous show) who had attempted to discourage people from taking antidepressant drugs. His point was merely that such drugs had helped he and his friends who had also been through that terrible war a great deal, and that such admonitions to avoid psychotropic drugs just would add to the stigma that veterans contending with mental illness (sometimes severe, he pointed out) deal with on a daily basis.
My thoughts are with our veterans this weekend; those who have returned from past wars, those who are now returning from or fighting current wars, and those who have not survived war and given their lives.
All I can think is that we have a responsibility as never before to make sure that our Veterans receive the best care possible--and that includes help for psychological issues such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, insomnia, suicidal thoughts, and everything that goes with the trauma of war.
It is more than a hope: it has to be an imperative. We can't let our veterans down any more than we already have.
Happy Memorial Day.
We DO remember you and care about you.
Hoping that help is available for those returning from war is not good enough. We have to make sure it is available, with no strings attached, at no cost, without limit or exception. Period.
It is the least we can do.
It is our obligation as citizens to make good on the promise to meet your needs once you return from these traumatic wars.
:loveya:
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